HO. 3 t 
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Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1S6G, by 
CLARK OR VIS, 

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United 
States for the Southern District of New York. 

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S3 


THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


For the Youth of Both Sexes. 


Do you desire to be liappy? “Yes.” 

Well, that is right. We all desire to be happy. 
It is the desire of every living creature. God 
has so made us that we cannot help loving hap¬ 
piness, and of course he intended we should, 
and consequently it is right that we should. 
Not only so, God created us to be happy. We 
desire all those we love to be happy. God’s 
love to his creatures is infinite; how much more, 
then, must he desire our happiness. Then do 
you wish to know 

How to be Happy. 

When we are truly wise we shall be happy. 
Let us examine this and see if it is not so. Con¬ 
sider a little further what wisdom is. Wisdom 
is to know what things are made or created for. 
In other words, it is to know the true uses 
of things. What then are the true uses of 
things? What has God created the universe 






cr 




THE WAY OF WISDOM 


and all things in it for ? For what use ? Evi¬ 
dently for the happiness of his creatures ; in 
other words, for their good : we call that good 
which, in tlio final end, produces happiness or joy. 
We cannot conceive any other end for which 
God could have created all things, consistent 
with his character as understood both by theists 
and deists. lie has declared both in his Word 
and in his works, his infinite love to man; 
therefore, whatever he does he must do from 
love to man—for his good or happiness. Then, 
of course, all the laws of our being, all the laws 
which God has ordained, either by his Word or 
works—all the laws of nature and of revelation, 
are designed for, and perfectly adapted to, our 
good. 

Hence, it follows, that if we are not happy it 
is because w T e are not wise; we do not know 
and obey the laws of infinite love and wisdom, 
which are made for our good. If we think 
something will make us happy which will not 
and cannot, we mistake some law of our being : 
we are not wise. A little thought will convince 
any one, even the most simple, that this is so. 
If we say that any one is foolish, or acts fool¬ 
ishly in any matter, we mean to say that he 
,j does not know what is good, or else he does not 
know how to get the good; he does not know 
how to adapt means to ends : he is not wise. 

& 











THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


5 



When we say that any one is wise, we mean j 
that he knows how to get for himself, or others, [j 
what is good ; what will produce happiness and 0 
avoid what is had ; what will produce injury or j! 
misery. How precious, then, is wisdom ! “ more ) 
desirable than gold, yea, than much fine gold, J 
sweeter than honey and the lioney-comb.” If n 
we have wisdom, it will bring us all other good. ] 
If we had all other good, all the wealth of the j 
world, without wisdom, it would only make us j 
miserable ; because, we should be sure to make 
a wrong use of it; and the wrong use of any- ) 
thing is always certain to bring misery instead j 
of happiness—evil instead of good. It is very i 
easy, then, to see why God commended Solo¬ 
mon for choosing h 

Wisdom above AU Things . ) 

The fact that Solomon chose wisdom above ) 
everything else, is sure evidence that he had Q 
begun to be wise, that he already had some wis- / 
dom. If any one thinks he does not need wis- 11 
dom, it is certain evidence that he is foolish ; j 
that he lacks all wisdom. On the other hand, ) 
if we love wisdom, and desire it above every- j 
thing else, we are sure to become wise. Now () 



happiness ; in other words, the way to liappi- { 


ness and all good? Then let us consider 




How we Get Wisdom. 

Every human being is born without any wis¬ 
dom ; we all start without any knowledge and 
without any wisdom. But w r e are created with 
a capacity to learn wisdom, or to become wise. 
We first have to learn facts, that is, get knowl¬ 
edge ; afterwards we learn to apply that knowl¬ 
edge to use : that is wisdom to that extent. 
We first learn that there is a sun ; this is a 
knowledge of the fact. We afterwards learn 
what the sun does, or what is its use, which is 
to give heat and light for man, to cause grain 
and fruit to grow for his food, etc., besides other 
effects. This is wisdom with regard to that 
fact. The lower animals have some knowledge. 
They see the sun, but do not know what the 
sun effects ; they cannot get wisdom. Man is 
the only creature made in God’s image, and is 
therefore the only creature capable of becoming 
wise. He is the only creature capable of learn¬ 
ing and comprehending the uses of things, 
hence all things were made for man—for his use. 


How God has Made Us. 

As God has created man in his own image, 
and he is his last and best work, the highest 
wisdom is a knowledge of man, how he is made 
or organized, and the laws of his being. 



THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


I 


To “know thyself” is the highest wisdom. 
When you know what man is spiritually and 
physically, the laws of your whole being, what 
will make you a true man, as God intended you 
to he,- when you know this and obey it, you are 
truly wise ; then you have the key to all good, 
to perfect happiness. This is the highest order 
of wisdom. All other is good and necessary, 
but only so as a means to this. Everything 
that exists is for some use, for some definite pur¬ 
pose, and we can easily see the use of many 
things. We see that man is made up of differ¬ 
ent parts, or organs, and all these parts together 
make the man. He has feet and legs, which it 
is easy to see were given for locomotion, to move 
his body from one place to another. That is 
their use. The use of the hands is to feel with, 
to work with, to produce food, clothing, etc., and 
to perform all the manual duties of life. The 
use of the hands is more varied and complicated 
than that of the feet; they have a higher and 
better use. The heart’s use is to circulate the 
blood; that of the lungs to purify it. The 
bones are simply a frame-work to build the rest 
of the body on. The use of the muscles is to 
keep the bones and viscera in place, and to give 
motion and active strength to the body, etc.; 
but motive power is their principal use. The 
use of the stomach is to digest food for the sus- 



THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


If 


tenance and growth of the whole body. The 
teeth are to chew the food so that it is fit for the 
stomach, to articulate sound, etc. The use of 
the eyes is seeing ; the ears, hearing ; the nose, ( 
smelling and breathing, principally ; the tongue, 
tasting and articulating, principally; and so 
with every other organ and part of the body : 
there is nothing but what is necessary and has 
its specific use. Take away any part, and man 
would not be a complete man ; and if anything 
j is added, he becomes deformed and imperfect. 
Man is the perfect work of Infinite wisdom. In 
his primary structure, capacities, and uses, he 
cannot possibly be improved. Progress and per¬ 
fection, then, do not consist in changing our 
primary form or nature, (for that we cannot do 
and exist as human beings,) but in developing 
and perfecting that form and activity to its high- (' 
est capacity. 

How can this be done ? Only by learning 
wisdom. Only by learning the true use or 1 
activity of every organ of our body and every 
faculty of our mind, and every passion or love 
of our soul, and regulating our lives by this law 
of use. You have now arrived at an age when 
you ought to begin to see and understand for 
yourself. You understand for yourself the uses 
of the different parts, or organs, of your body, 
as above stated. You can see plainly, no doubt, 


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THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


9 


tliat the uses of the organs mentioned must be 
their true uses ; you see that they do perform 
those uses, and are wisely adapted to them. 
Well, if you can understand this, you have some 
wisdom, and can learn more facts and get more 
wisdom ; for, so far as you understand, you have 
wisdom in the understanding, and when you 
act according to that understanding you act 
wisely, and are really wise in that matter. 

Now, if God created us to be happy, and per¬ 
fectly adapted everything to the use it was in¬ 
tended to perform, the true use of anything and 
everything must produce happiness, and nothing 
but happiness, and if we suffer pain of any kind 
it is certain that there has been some violation 
of the law of use, that is, we have moused or 
abused some organ or function of the body or 
mind ; we have not been wise. When we are 
sick, or diseased, or suffer pain, it is God’s lov- 
) ing warning to us that we need wisdom, that 


we are doing wrong, and it is intended, and 
ought to lead us to find out that wrong, to seek 
wisdom. But we are very apt to think we are 
seeking wisdom when we are not; we may think 
we love it when we do not. 

Would you Like to A'now 

how to tell whether you love wisdom or not ? 
As we said before, we all desire happiness, and 






THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


10 


tliat is right ; and we all seek intently enough 
for it, the foolish even more than the wise, hut 
the difference between the wise and unwise is 
this : The wise seek happiness through wisdom, 
or by means of wisdom. They are more intent 
on wisdom, or what is the same thing, knowing 
what is right, than in getting immediate plea¬ 
sure or happiness, and their desire for wisdom 
and happiness is not only for themselves, but 
for others as well. The foolish blindly seek for 
immediate pleasure and gratification, without 
reference to right or the true use, not knowing 
that the pleasure got from the abuse of any 
function is but momentary, and is sure to bring 
after it disease and pain. 

The use of the sense of taste, for instance, is 
to choose our food properly. Anything that 
tastes bad is not fit for food. The use of the 
stomach is to receive and digest the food to sus¬ 
tain the body. Now, if we choose the proper 
food, in the right quantity, and chew it properly, 
0 the effect will be good, and that food will pro¬ 
duce nothing but health and happiness ; and if 
we are wise, this is what we will do. To build 
up and sustain the body is the true primary use 
of eating. There is a necessary accompanying 
pleasure of all true use, and the better the use 
the higher the happiness ; but we should not 
n mistake the pleasure for the use. The pleasure 

f5^*=*= 






THE WAY OF WISDOM. 11 J 


l is not the proper use, but the necessary result [j 











12 


THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


ticulture. You know tliat the fruit of trees and 
plants is useful and necessary for food, and you 
love their shade and beauty. If so, you culti¬ 
vate them when you have the opportunity, and 
take delight in so doing. You love to study the 
laws of their growth ; you do what you can by 
fertilizing, cultivating, and pruning, to make 
them as thrifty and beautiful as possible. You 
do all this, and watch their progress with plea¬ 
sure. Suppose another person has no love of hor¬ 
ticulture, he cares little or nothing about fruits, 
and does not appreciate the beauty of trees, but 
he wishes to get money for the sake of being rich 
or great. He sees that he can get money by 
raising trees and fruit to sell, and he engages in 
that business or use as well as vourself: but 

1 7 

wliat a difference you will see in his manner of 
working. He will do only what he thinks is 

necessary to get money. When he prunes or 

\ 

cultivates them, he will do only what he thinks 
is necessary for money-profit, and will be glad 
when he gets through with his work and can 
get away from them ; and if anything of more 
money-profit presents itself, he will leave or 
neglect them. Now, in the first case, you raise 
the trees and fruit for their direct and evident 
use, and there is a true delight and happiness 
in it; and it may harmonize with all other uses ; 
and the raising of trees and fruit for their evi- 


8 





THE WAY OF WISDOM. 



13 


J dent use, is a higher use tlian getting money 
1] simply to be rich or great, and the delight is 
j correspondingly greater and purer. This prim 
j ciple holds good in regard to all uses. If we 
j love any use for its own sake, we take delight in 
J doing it, and the higher or better the use any 
j organ of our body or any faculty of our mind 
J has to perform, the greater the delight in its 
'j true and normal exercise, and the penalty of its 
j abuse, or the pain, is in exact proportion to the 
, happiness which may flow from it; that is, the 
j higher the faculty misused, the more severe the 
j penalty. 

This being true, you will see why it is the 
J highest wisdom, of the utmost importance, that 
■j you should 

Understand Tou?' Own Nature, 

should know what man is, what you were cre- 
) ated for ; in other words, what your use is in gen- 
I eral, as a man, and what the use of every organ 
n of the body and faculty of the mind is in mak- 
[1 ing up and serving tlie whole man. For if we 
j do not understand the use of anything, we are 
) liable to mis use it, and as God has created no- 
[ thing but for some use, it is evident that he in- 
) tended we should understand that use, that we 
j may do the use and avoid the abuse. 







13 


14 


THE WAY OF WISDOM 


Sin, 

then, is a violation of God’s law; or in other 
words, the misuse of what he has given us, and 
this, of course, applies to all his laws, the physi¬ 
cal as well as the moral and spiritual, for the 
voluntary violation of the physical laws involves 
violation of moral and spiritual laws as well. 

Sexual Organs . 

We have considered, thus far, the use of some 
of the organs of our body with reference to their 
use to us as individuals, or have spoken only of 
a few of the organs which are necessary to make 
up the individual, and which are common alike 
to hotli man and woman. But we see that God 
has created mankind male and female. 

Now wliat has God created the two sexes for, 
for what use ? What is the difference between 
man and woman? We see that they differ in 
organization ; one has organs differing from the 
other, and where there is a difference in form or 
structure, we may be sure there is a difference 
of use ; for everything in God’s works is perfectly 
formed and adapted to its use. Evidently, the 
immediate use for which man is created male 
and female is generation, for the propagation, 
multiplication, and perpetuation of man on the 
earth. God’s method of continuing the creation 







of the human race is through the united use of 
the male and female, without which we could 
not exist. 

We see, then, as man is God’s best and perfect 
work, that the means by which man’s creation 
and existence is continued, is the highest use, 
and a knowledge of its laws is of the utmost im¬ 
portance. The highest happiness accompanies 
the knowledge and practice of the laws of this 
use, while the greatest evils and suffering flow 
from disobedience, or the abuse of those organs 
and functions. 

As our desire is that you should be a true man, 
that you should be strong and healthy in mind 
and body, if we can be the means of conveying to 
you any wisdom in regard to your sexual organ¬ 
ism, and the laws that should govern its action, 
it is the highest use that we can do for you. 
For, as we have before said, we all have to learn 
everything from some source, and if we do not 
get true principles and ideas, we are sure to get 
false and distorted ones. Then as you value 
your own manhood, your own usefulness, health, 
and happiness, you will rationally consider all 
that we say ; you will weigh it well in both your 
judgment and conscience, and then act accord¬ 
ing to your final convictiong. For you are finally 
responsible to God and your own conscience, and 
must take upon yourself the consequences of 




3 


3 





16 


THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


your own actions. You cannot rationally accept 
any one as an infallible guide, but only as a 
help, and must finally govern your action by tlie 
rationality which God has given you, enlightened 
by the truths he has placed within your reach. 

The General'ire Organs — Their Use. 

As before stated, the use of the generative 
organs is propagation. These are as necessary 
to make up the complete man as any of the or¬ 
gans that God has given us. Without these the 
rest of the body would be useless, because with¬ 
out these, man could not be born into the world, 
and could not exist, and as these are the means 
of man’s creation, they perform the highest use, 
and thus produce the highest and purest happi¬ 
ness, while their abuse brings the most degrad¬ 
ing and awful misery. 

It is a well-established law that man cannot 
propagate a strong and healthy offspring, until 
he has attained maturity, until he has got his 
growth and strength, in other words, attained to 
manhood. Consequently, the use or exercise of 
the organs of generation does not properly begin 
till manhood, then every healthy man and wom¬ 
an should aim to be married, and thus use all 
the functions of manhood and womanhood which 
God has given them. Your own reason will tell 
you that this is the true law, for like produces 






THE WAY OF WISDOM 



like, and of course we cannot give strength and 
development to offspring if we do not have them 
to give. 

This being the law, we find that until about 
the attainment of manhood, these organs do not 
develop in size and activity with the rest of the 
body. They are not yet needed for use, and the 
vital forces are expended on the other organs of 
the body, that are needed, which have to perform 
their uses. The stomach has to act as vigorously 
in childhood and youth as ever, and therefore 
we find its powers of digestion are as strong then 
as ever, and the appetite for food as active and 
imperative; while at this time the generative 
organs remain small, there is no spontaneous 
activity in them, and they cannot perform their 
normal use at all, and to the wdse the lesson is 
plain that they are not to be active at this time. 


i 


Afanner of Use. 

The form and structure of any organ of the 
body is always perfectly adapted to the use it is 
intended to perform, and to nothing else. The 
hand is perfectly adapted to its use ; the ear to 
its use, &c. The hand cannot perform the uses 
of the ear, nor the ear those of the hand, and 
you will find this law holds good with regard to 
all the organs of the body. 

The form, then, determines and shows the use 


0 








THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


(I 18 


I 


1 


0 


0 


and tlie manner of the use. Now, the general 
form of all the organs in man and woman is the 
same, except the organs of generation, and these 
are entirely different in form, which shows that 
they have entirely different functions to perform 
ip the use of generation, and the female organs 
being perfectly adapted for the reception of the 
male organs, shows clearly that they were in¬ 
tended to act in conjunction, and in no other 
way. Therefore it becomes just as much our 
duty to provide for the normal use of this func¬ 
tion in marriage, when we attain to manhood 
and womanhood, as it is our duty to refrain from 
its use till then. Everything is given us for use, 
and if we neglect to use any organ or faculty of 
the body or mind, we must suffer for it in our 
whole being, for every part acts for the whole, j 
and performs its use for the whole. 




The Highest Use. 

There is, in every healthy man and woman, at 
maturity, a strong and spontaneous love of this 
highest use and duty which no other use will 
satisfy. No other use will develop the whole 
being into true manhood or womanhood. There 
is nothing that can do so much to perfect man¬ 
kind, nothing that can do so much to puri fy and 
refine the character, to develop the strength of 
body and mind, to harmonize the whole being, 









to give rest, contentment, and permanent happi¬ 
ness, as true marriage, and the reason, as you 
will see, is that by it is accomplished the highest 
use,—the existence and consequent happiness of 


THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


19 



mankind, which is the glory of God, the Creator 


of all. 


Abuse of the Ge?ieratire Organs. 


When we fully understand the use of anything, 
it is easy to understand what is an abuse of it. 
If you now understand the true use of the Gen- 


j| erative Organs, you need not be misled by the 
'i ignorant, careless, or vulgar. There are many 
j who, from mere ignorance of the law of use, are 
Q destroying their own health and life by abuse, 


and are misleading others who are alike igno¬ 
rant. 


Would you like to know how to tell whether j 
any one has wisdom on this subject, or whether n 
he is ignorant or depraved ? In the first place, ] 
you will understand, from what you have learned ^ 
of uses, that wisdom is to understand the uses 
of things, that God has created nothing except j 
for a good use, that there is nothing in any of ) 
the organs of man, or their uses, to be ashamed || 
of, nothing but what is an expression of God’s [) 
love and wisdom, and is consequently pure and ) 
noble, and there is nothing but what is proper j 
to talk about if treated in a proper manner. ( 






Therefore, if you see or hear any one acting or (' 
speaking with regard to the generative organs l 
or functions, or the relation of the sexes, in a [' 
vulgar manner, with sly inuendos or obscene (. 
jokes, or as something to be ashamed of or treat¬ 
ed with ridicule, or different from any other use, ( 
you may know he is not wise, his ideas are false [ 
and distorted, and most likely his character is [ 
perverted and depraved. 


By this rule you can also judge of any book, 
writing, or picture. If you see that they are 


statue or painting may express perfect purity 
and innocence, and if so, its tendency or influence 
is good, and you need not be afraid of it any- 


immodesty, coarseness, lewdness, or the want of 
virtue, purity, and use, portrayed with an at¬ 
tempt to hide their native deformity and make 
them fascinating, you may be sure that its inten¬ 
tion was not good, it is not the work of the wise, 
and you should shun it as you would a loathsome 
disease. 


There is no organ, power, or use, in man which 
j may not be misused. We may pervert the use 


’] mere pleasure of eating and drinking, and be- 
,) come gluttons and drunkards, destroying our 




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THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


21 


usefulness and happiness. We may pervert ac¬ 
quisitiveness, which is good and necessary to in¬ 
cite us to labor for the means of living, of growing 
wise and being useful, to the getting of money 
for the mere love or pleasure of possession. 

So we may excite the generative powers to an 
unnatural action, separate from their use, or be¬ 
fore they are developed to the time of use, and 
thus exhaust the strength and vitality necessary 
to develop the whole man, and thus prevent his 
ever properly performing the function and duties 
of manhood. The exercise or action of any organ 
or power in its true use, increases its health and 
strength. We can get no strength except by 
normal activity; but the unnatural, excited ac¬ 
tion of any power apart from its use, exhausts 
and weakens that power and the whole man. 

The digestive powers always gain strength 
by the digestion of proper food when it is needed, 
that is when we have a real appetite for it, but 
they are always weakened by the continual tast¬ 
ing of food, sweets, or stimulants, for which we 
have no real appetite, but only a taste. And the 
continual thinking of, desiring, or talking of 
food, or eating and drinking when we do not 
need it for the use of the body, weakens diges¬ 
tion, depraves the natural appetite, and diseases 
the whole body, because it is an abuse of the 
appetite. 










22 


TIIE WAY OF WISDOM 


But there is nothing that so weakens and de¬ 
praves the whole man, both in body and mind, 
as the abuse of the Sexual Organs and Functions. 
If the thoughts and energies are directed to 
proper uses and manly activities, the semen is 
retained in the blood, and gives it vitality and 
builds up and develops the whole being in men¬ 
tal and physical strength to manhood. Tliere is 
no natural or spontaneous secretion of the semi¬ 
nal fluid from the blood until needed for normal 
use. This use cannot be properly performed till 
maturity or the attainment of manhood. Any 
excitement of the sexual organs, by which the 
vital powers and nervous force are turned prema¬ 
turely in this direction, will cause a premature 
secretion and expenditure of the generative fluid, 
and exhaust both the physical and mental en¬ 
ergies. 


The Consequences 

are evil and only evil, and the reason is that 
this is the abuse, and not the use, of the highest 
and noblest power pertaining to man. It is called 
self-abuse, or self-pollution, because it is destruc¬ 
tive of the whole man, of all his powers and 
uses, from the highest to the lowest. It is sure 
to pollute and disease the whole man, both mind 
1 and body. It sends many to an early grave, 


(j and makes many others impotent and incapable 


)< 




of marriage. It is sure to destroy the courage 
and manliness of youth. It weakens all the 
powers and functions of the body. It predis¬ 
poses to palpitation of the heart, dispepsia, con¬ 
sumption, and many other diseases. It destroys 
the mental strength and activity. It causes 
bashfulness and timidity. It makes one ashamed 
of himself, and is sure to show itself in the coun¬ 
tenance and actions. 

If any one, with any proper knowledge of this 
subject, permits himself to indulge in such a 
practice, it i3 a crime no less than suicide, and 
if he leads another into it, it is no better than 
murder. If any one has been ignorantly led into 
this practice, it is a great misfortune, and 

The Only Wise Course 

is to stop short and turn the thoughts and ac¬ 
tivities resolutely and cheerfully to legitimate 
uses, and recreations (for recreations are useful 
when needed for exercise or rest). If the natural 
health and strength of the organs have become 
50 weakened as to permit involuntary emissions, 
do not let it trouble you; it is an evil, but a less 
evil than any voluntary indulgence. This is 
what any intelligent and honest physician will 
tell you. Do not rely on any medicines. Your 
only hope is to “ cease to do evil and learn to do 
well.” It is wrong action that lias produced 







weakness, only right action can give strength. 

It requires more effort to act right than if there 
had never been any wrong action, because there 
is not the same health and strength for right 
use, for wise control and direction of mind and 
body ; blind sensation and passion have gained 
a power which must be broken, and which will 
make you an abject slave and destroy you if you 
do not break it. But if there are courage and 
manliness enough left to act right, the evil can 
be overcome, the tyrant cast out. 

Then, wherever we find ourselves, whether we 
have fallen from our integrity or not, whether 
we are in the use or in the abuse of any or all of 
our powers and faculties, the whole work we 
have to do, is to act right: that is, the whole of 
wisdom consists in understanding true uses, and 
doing those uses — in knowing the right and 
doing it. 

As this is all that is necessary in order to avoid 
all evil and pain and to attain all good, or the 
highest happiness and noblest manhood, it be¬ 
comes all-important to know 

How /o Control ou?' Action. 0 

You have learned what you need to do to be 
lj happy,—that it is to be useful; for you will see 
that he who is most useful must be most happy. 
Then all that it is necessary for you to know is 




* 3 " 


THE WAY OF WISDOM. 


25 


how to control your action according to the wis¬ 
dom you have learned so as to do the use and 
avoid the abuse. 

We cannot control the actions wisely, without 
the exercise of the will, nor can we by the will 
unless we know how or in what manner to ex¬ 
ercise it. The will is entirely helpless unless it 
has wisdom to aid it. The only way in which 
it is possible to control the will, or what is the 
same thing, the atfections, passions and desires, 
is to control the thoughts. It is impossible to 
put away the desire of anything until we can 
put away the thought of it. The will can effect 
nothing, no use whatever ; except by means of 
thought. 

Therefore, if we cherish, or give place to any¬ 
thing in the thoughts, it will also be in the will, 
and is sure, finally to govern the actions, and if 
it is something wrong, something contrary to 
use, it is sure to enslave, abuse, and ruin us. 
Therefore do not let the thought of anything 
wrong or mean, or of any abuse, remain in your 
mind. Turn your thoughts immediately away 
from it to something good and useful. In this 
way we can overcome any evil, and in no other. 

A curiosity to learn the use of any and every¬ 
thing is good and commendable. It is implanted 
in us by the Creator to induce us to study his 
laws; or what is the same thing, the use of what 


£5 





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THE WAY OF WISDOM, 


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he lias made. Without this we never could be¬ 
come wise. 

As we become wise by thinking of and learn¬ 
ing the uses of things, and become good, that is 
useful, by doing those uses, so by thinking of 
and learning abuses, we become foolish and in¬ 
sane, and by acting them become bad or useless. 
Therefore, when you study anatomy or physiol¬ 
ogy, get good, sound, medical works, such as are 
used in medical schools, or such as are prepared 
for popular use by thorough scientific medical 
men, books which you have reason to believe are 
written by honest men for honest uses, and not 
those that are written by the ignorant and de¬ 
praved to teach abuses and pander to idle curi¬ 
osity and evil or misguided passions. Such 
works as the latter are always written to get 
money dishonestly, for, to sell anything that is 
bad or useless, is to get money dishonestly. 

Marriage a Duly. 

Finally, do not be misled by any one, with the 
idea that you can lead a truly happy, virtuous, 
and useful life single. Do not fall into the er¬ 
ror now being entertained by young men, that 
of avoiding marriage because they feel that they 
cannot maintain a wife as she would wish to be 
maintained, because they cannot meet the ex¬ 
pense which an extravagant taste demands. If 







THE WAY OF WISDOM. 




27 


you are falling into this liabit of thought, search 
your own heart, and you will find that you have 
only too much of the same silly pride yourself. 
If use is your motive, you will be wise enough 
to find a wife who can appreciate and love a true 
man more than wealth, show, dress, or any sen¬ 
sual or vain ambition. Make, then, such simple 
and honest provision as your circumstances al¬ 
low, and if you cannot find a sensible wife in your 
present circle, look for her in another. You will 
surely find her, for God never gives the love of 
any use without the means of doing it. 


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